Intense rainfall likely in north, central and east India during next 5 days

Twelve rain-related deaths were reported in Gujarat and four from Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, even as very heavy downpour was predicted in the east, north and the central parts of the country over the next five days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a low pressure area (cyclonic circulation) over north Bay of Bengal and its neighbourhood was very likely to move west-northwestwards during the period as it issued a red alert for Odisha for August 26 and for Chhattisgarh, a day later.
Incessant rainfall disrupted normal life in Odisha, and 1,400 people were evacuated from inundated areas in Gujarat during the day, while over 1,000 villages remained affected by floods in 18 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

In the national capital, the IMD issued an alert for "moderate to heavy" rains over the next three days, and the Yamuna river was flowing precariously close to the warning mark in the city.

No fresh areas were inundated by floodwaters for the third consecutive day in Bihar, where 83.62 lakh people across 16 districts were reeling under the impact of the deluge.

The IMD said widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls are very likely in Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand till August 28 and in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and west Rajasthan during August 26-28.

Isolated extremely heavy falls are also very likely in Odisha on August 25-26 and in Chhattisgarh on August 27, it said.

"The north, central and east India will experience widespread rainfall activity and it can also experience an intense rainfall activity over the next five days," Sathi Devi, head of the national weather forecasting centre, said.

In Gujarat, 12 deaths have been reported in rain-related incidents since Monday evening. The state has so far received 106.78 per cent of its annual average rainfall.

Heavy rains in catchment areas have filled to the brim 90 out of 205 dams in the state, while 70 dams have reached over 70 per cent of their total storage capacity, he said.

Rescue and relief operations continued in rain-battered regions as teams of the National and State Disaster Response Forces evacuated people stranded due to flooding.

Three people drowned in Morbi district, and one death each was reported from Dang, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Tapi, Kutch and Amreli districts. A man died in a wall collapse incident in Patan, while two more died in other rain-related accidents.

A high alert has been issued for areas downstream of 138 dams from which water is being released.

In Jammu and Kashmir, three members of a family were among four killed in separate incidents of landslides following heavy rains in Reasi district.

A 30-year-old man, his 25-year-old wife and a relative were killed in a landslide in the upper reaches of Khour in Mahore area on Monday night, and a 40-year-old man died in another landslide in Khandi Gali Dhok.

The Uttar Pradesh government said 1,090 villages in 18 districts have been affected by floods, although Relief Commissioner Sanjay Goyal said the situation was being monitored and "there is an overall improvement".

He said the Sharda river at Lakhimpur Kheri's Palia Kalan, the Saryu at Elgin Bridge in Barabanki, Ayodhya and Turtipar in Ballia were flowing above the danger mark.

In Delhi, dark clouds shrouded the skies in the morning, restricting the maximum temperature at 33.2 degrees Celsius. Humidity levels oscillated between 69 per cent and 92 per cent.

The city is likely to witness another spell of "moderate to heavy rain" between Wednesday and Friday, the IMD said.

The Yamuna was flowing precariously close to the warning mark. The water level was recorded at 204 metres at 10 am and at 203.98 metres at 6 pm, just below the danger mark of 205.33 metres.

Water was being released into the Yamuna at the rate of 33,406 cubic metres per second (cusec) at 6 pm from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana's Yamunanagar district. Normally, the flow rate is 352 cusec.

Maximum temperatures settled within normal limits in Haryana and Punjab, with common capital Chandigarh recording a high of 33.1 degrees Celsius.

According to the weather office, an active monsoon wet spell is likely to commence in the region from Wednesday for subsequent three days.

In Bihar, an official bulletin said 83,62,451 people in 1,333 panchayats of 130 blocks are hit by the deluge.

River Ganga continued to flow above the danger mark at three places in the state and the Bagmati river at five places.

Incessant rainfall disrupted normal life in parts of Odisha. The low-pressure area, formed over north Bay of Bengal on Monday, has now become well marked and lies in the same region, the Bhubaneswar weather office said.

Besides triggering heavy to very heavy and even extremely heavy rainfall in parts of Odisha over the next three days, the system is likely to cause squally weather with the high-velocity wind having speed up to 55 kmph along and off the Odisha coast, it said.

In view of the weather forecast, district collectors have been asked to remain alert and closely monitor the situation, Special Relief Commissioner P K Jena said.

In Andhra Pradesh, the water level in river Godavari slid below the danger mark, but several villages along its course in East and West Godavari districts are yet to fully return to normal.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy reviewed the situation in the morning and directed the collectors of the two districts to complete enumeration of the damage to crops by September 7.